What Gives, Fox?!

I was a TV junkie. Don't get me wrong. I still am. I would turn on my TV after work, and it would not shut off until after I went to sleep. I used the timer since I always fell asleep. Yes, that's supposedly bad for you. It's how I roll. On days off, the TV was on morning, noon and night.

Despite living in a one-bedroom apartment, I had two televisions. Both were used regularly. I watched cable shows when I had cable.

All that changed when I moved. No more cable and I only watched one TV in my bedroom. The house had cable, but my room didn't. And sharing is a no-no. My viewing time was used up by the Internet, so I bought a new PC that I could use to view my favorite shows.

I taped until my WinTV converter stopped working. The strike that affected shows a few years back also cut down my viewing. My TV may be on, but it is watching me more than I it.

I have my favorite shows, but just watching any old thing, nope, not gonna do it. And thanks to viewing online,  I did not need to watch via my box.

I thought that each network had gotten that message. Most of them either work through Hulu, Crackle, or their own website. In my last post about this 2011-2012 TV season, I said that The New Girl was iffy. The characters had not grown on me, so I watch Ringer instead. I could watch The New Girl online. I'm fine with the cast change, in fact, Winston is my favorite. But Ringer is must-see TV. I could watch The New Girl after Ringer was over. Except I can't.

The Fox Network has decided to control when their viewers can watch the shows on their network. Tonight's episode won't be available to view online for eight days. Really? You want to play this way, Fox? And it's the same way on Hulu.

What's wrong with waiting eight days, you say? How about this? I've only seen three episodes. Aren't you on episode seven?

When I found out that episode four wouldn't be available, can you guess what happened next? I forgot. And kept forgetting. It's not available to watch when I wanted to watch it, so I don't bother.

What I don't understand is everybody else is doing things to gain viewers but you. Are you really banking on The New Girl's popularity to draw viewers and that these said viewers will wait patiently for the next episode? Or do you expect us to purchase DISH just to see it the same night it airs?!

That's a risky gamble. A gamble that did not pay off for Netflix. They lost 600,000 subscribers because they raised the price 60%, and then tried to separate the business. Of course, Fox, you are not that extreme (at least not yet), but come on. I might wait the eight days for a beloved show, but not for a show I'm iffy about.

Really, Fox? You want to play it like that? Even though people prefer to view online, you want to punish us because we don't have Dish?! Yeah, yeah. I could watch it on TV when it airs. Lots of viewers do that. And really this is just a rant from someone who isn't vested in your company.

But viewing habits have changed, dummies. People view it when they want to, not when the network dictates. How about 48 hours after? Why am I trying to compromise? Everybody else seems to get it, why not you? And you are not the only one, but you affected me when I was watching so I choose you!

Feh. Whatever. Not viewing The New Girl is no loss. Ringer is on and it's good. I blame your owner. He's too busy hacking and eavesdropping on people's private conversations.